1. Praise the Sove-reign, heavens a-dor-ing;
An-gels sing-ing in the height;
Sun and moon, at once re-joic-ing;
Sing-ing, all the stars of light.
Praise the One who once has spo-ken;
Worlds the migh-ty voice o-beyed.
Laws, which nev-er shall be brok-en
For their gui-dance God has made.

2. Praise the Sove-reign ev-er glo-rious;
Nev-er shall the pro-mise fail.
God has made the saints vic-to-rious;
Sin and death shall not pre-vail.
Praise the One of our sal-va-tion;
Hosts on high, that power pro-claim.
Heaven and earth and all cre-a-tion,
Laud and mag-ni-fy the Name.

3. Wor-ship, hon-or, glo-ry, bless-ing,
God, we of-fer un-to you.
Young and old, all praise ex-press-ing,
In glad hom-age come to you.
All the saints in heaven a-dore you;
We would bow be-fore your throne.
As your an-gels serve be-fore you,
So on earth your will be done.

The first stanza of the hymn is a paraphrase of Psalm 148; see also Psalm 29. See also Wisdom of Solomon 1:14, "And the generative forces of the world are wholesome, and there is no destructive poison in them;" compare the lyrics "death on earth shall not prevail."

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The hymn does not appear in Singing the Living Tradition, nor in The New Century Hymnal. Below is another revised version, entitled "Praise the Sovereign, Heavens Above," rev. REH (2006), to the tune BENEVENETO (7.7.7.7. D):

1. Praise the Lord: ye heavens, adore him;
Praise him, angels in the height.
Sun and moon, rejoice before him;
Praise him, all ye stars of light.
Praise the Lord, for he hath spoken;
Worlds his mighty voice obeyed.
Laws which never shall be broken
For their guidance he hath made.

2. Praise the Lord, for he is glorious;
Never shall his promise fail.
God hath made his saints victorious;
Sin and death shall not prevail.
Praise the God of our salvation;
Hosts on high, his power proclaim.
Heaven and earth and all creation,
Laud and magnify his Name.

3. Worship, honor, glory, blessing,
Lord, we offer unto thee.
Young and old, thy praise expressing,
In glad homage bend the knee.
All the saints in heaven adore thee;
We would bow before thy throne.
As thine angels serve before thee,
So on earth thy will be done.

1. Sing praise to the Sove-reign who reigns in the height;
Prais-es sing, all an-gels, sing praise, stars of light;
Sing praise, skies, and wa-ters which a-bove the skies,
When the word com-mand-ed, firm-ly did a-rise.

2. Prais-es sing, all foun-tains of the deeps and seas,
Rocks and hills and moun-tains, ce-dars and all trees;
Sing praise, clouds and va-pors, snow and hail and fire,
Stor-my wind ful-fil-ling on-ly one de-sire.

3. Sing praise, fowls and cat-tle, all queens and all kings;
Sing praise, men and wo-men, all cre-a-ted things;
For the name of God is ex-cel-lent a-lone;
On the earth, a foot-stool; o'er heav-en, a throne.

The hymn lyrics constitue a paraphrase of Psalm 148; see also Pslam 29. The hymn does not appear in Singing the Living Tradition nor in The New Century Hymnal.

All materials may be reproduced for non-profit local and congregational use. We request notification of use, in addition to notification of any changes made when materials are used so we might benefit from the insight of others. Any materials used or reproduced in any way must bear the notation "(c) 2008 Richard E. Hurst, for non-profit local and congregational use only, all other rights reserved."

Below are alternative lyrics (rev. REH, 2006) that follow the original not quiet as closely, but which do undertake a more environmental message:

1. Sing praise to the Sove-reign that dwells in the heights;
Sing prais-es, all an-gels; sing praise, stars and lights;
Sing praise, skies and wa-ters; sing praise, bees and flies;
As the Word com-mands us, as ste-wards we rise.

2. Sing praise to the One that moves deeps and the seas,
Rocks, hills and the moun-tains; green ce-dars and trees;
Sing praise, clouds and va-pors; snow, hail and swift fire;
Sing praise by Earth ten-ding: ere E-den's de-sire.

3. Sing praise to the Day-spring, all flo-ra and beasts!
Sing prais-es all peo-ples, phy-si-cians and priests!
For in the di-vine name, we ev-er shall toil,
With pro-mis-es to keep, to air, shore and soil.

The download files below need to be changed to reflect several changes to the lyrics above:

June 09, 2005

78R Who Fathoms the Eternal Thought

Original Title: "Who Fathoms the Eternal Thought," John Greenleaf Whittier; ST. BERNARD, C.M., Tochter Sion (1741). Psalm 46:10 (KJV), "Be still, and know that I am God;" Psalm 100:3, "Know ye that the Lord he is God;" see also Deuteronomy 4:35, 1 Kings 18:39, Ezekiel 34:30, Exodus 18:11. Isaiah 2:11, [T]he haughtiness of men shall be bowed down, and the Lord alone shall be exalted in that day;" see also 2 Corinthians 10:5. 1 Kings 19:12, "And after the earthquake a fire; but the LORD was not in the fire: and after the fire a still small voice;" 1 John 4:8-16 "God is Love." Psalm 78:41, "And still again they tried God, and set bounds to the Holy One of Israel;" see also Psalms 74:17, 148:6; Job 26:10, 38:10.

November 17, 2005

198R All Creatures of the Earth and Sky/Oh, criaturas del buen Dios

Original Title: "All Creatures of Our God and King," Francis of Assisi (1225), trans. W H. Draper, LASST UNS ERFERUEN, 8.8.4.4.8.8.3.3.4.4.4., Geistliche Kirchengesänge (Cologne 1623); New Title: "All Creatures of the Earth and Sky," recast from Umbrian REH (2005), Spanish J. Miguez Bonino, same hymn tune. Under the latter title it appears to LASST UNS ERFERUEN in Singing the Living Tradition as no. 203, albeit with only five stanzas; with even more changes it appears recast by Miriam Therese Winter as no. 17 in The New Century Hymnal as "To You, O God, All Creatures Sing." An abbreviated adaption by Sharon Anway is included in the UUA's Singing the Journey as No. 1066 to the tune YE BANKS AND BRAES under the name "O Brother Sun," to good reviews. The hymn is sometimes perceived as a take on Psalm 148; there are echoes of other psalms as well (such as Psalm 69); however, it most strongly echoes Psalm 100. The Spanish version, originally entitled "Oh, criaturas del Señor," as no. 22, in Mil Voces para celebrar. The redemption, and in some senses, personalization of Nature by St. Francis has a hint of natural theism about it, which no doubt explains the placement of the no. 1066 in the "Earth-Centered Traditions" section of Singing the Journey; that Christianity in some guises might count amongst such traditions ought not be discounted (as the editors seem to recognize implicitly), given the stewardship of the Earth that Genesis 2 bestows upon humankind.LASST UNS ERFERUEN (8.8.4.4.8.8.3.3.4.4.4.)

All materials may be reproduced for non-profit local and congregational use. We request notification of use, in addition to notification of any changes made when materials are used so we might benefit from the insight of others. Any materials used or reproduced in any way must bear the notation "(c) 2005 Richard E. Hurst, for non-profit local and congregational use only, all other rights reserved."

December 13, 2005

214R Rabbi and Worker of Years Past

Original Title: "O Master Workman of the Race," Jay Thomas Stocking (1912), OLD 137TH, C.M.D., One and Fiftie Psalms of David (1556); New Title: "Rabbi and Worker of Years Past," alt. REH (2005), same hymn tune. The hymn does not appear in Singing the Living Tradition. Stocking was an American Congregationalist. The source of OLD 137TH is also thought to be John Day's Psalter (1553), although this is not what Hymns of the Spirit Two has to say on the matter. The disciples of Jesus called him "rabbi," translated as "magister" in Latin; this appears variously as master, teacher and rabbi in English versions of the Bible; all speak to Jesus' teaching ministry, but only the final designation in English makes clear his identity as a Jewish teacher. The lyrics seem to echo Luke 2:24b (NKJV): "Did you not know that I must be about My Father's business?" "For as a young man marries a young woman, so shall your builder marry you," Isaiah 62:5.

1. Rab-bi and Work-er of years past, the one from Gal-i-lee,
who with the mind of ear-ly youth sub-lime things did per-ceive,
we give thanks for a child-hood faith that shone a whole life through;
"Did you not know it is my work, and our God's work to do?"

2. O Car-pen-ter of Na-za-reth, Buil-der of life di-vine,
who shapes our lives to God’s own law, your own, the true de-sign,
build us a tower of Christ-like height, that we the land may view,
and, lo, like you, our nob-lest work, the Sove-reign's work to do.
3. O one who does the vi-sion send and ere gives each a task,
and with the task suf-fic-ient strength, show us your will, we ask;
Give us a cons-cience bold and good, give us a pur-pose true,
that it may be our high-est joy, our Sove-reign's work to do.Word ScorePDF ScoreNoteworthy Composer File

All materials may be reproduced for non-profit local and congregational use. We request notification of use, in addition to notification of any changes made when materials are used so we might benefit from the insight of others. Any materials used or reproduced in any way must bear the notation "(c) 2005 Richard E. Hurst, for non-profit local and congregational use only, all other rights reserved."